Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 18 November (HL3768), why the procurement of legal advice by Katherine Coates is a matter for the unincorporated UK Endorsement Board given that the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 22 November (HL3859) states that the UK Endorsement Board does not have autonomy for its economic activity and procurement, spending controls and due process are matters for the Financial Reporting Council and its incorporated subsidiary the UK Endorsement Board Limited.

The UK Endorsement Board is an independent unincorporated association and has autonomy of decision-making in relation to the functions conferred upon it. Procurement of legal advice in undertaking those functions is a matter for the UK Endorsement Board.

The UK Accounting Standards Endorsement Board Limited, an incorporated subsidiary of the Financial Reporting Council, provides the operational facilities and resources to support the UK Endorsement Board’s activities. This maintains the independence of the UK Endorsement Board’s technical decision-making.